Think about something that you experienced with your child that you hope to hold in your heart forever. What do you remember? The sound of her laughter, the smell of his head, the sight of her sleeping in those footed pajamas, the warmness of his skin right after a bath, the taste of bananas when she tried to feed you her snack? Whatever the memory, you probably recall it through more than one of your five senses. There is a reason for that!

Experiences that integrate several senses simultaneously are responsible for lasting impressions. Each of our five senses (sight, smell, sound, touch, taste) activates specific neurons in the brain. For your child, multi-sensory activities provide more learning opportunities than single-sensory activities. In Kindermusik, we encourage multi-sensory learning. So, while your child listens to and imitates animal sounds vocally or with an instrument, sees the animals in the story, and moves around like them, he is learning….and making musical memories that he will hold in his heart forever.

Everyday connection: Multi-vitamins for the senses. Turn your child’s favorite book into a multi-sensory literacy experience. Hold her in your lap while you read together. Let her feel the pages. If the book features an animal, include a stuffed animal in your time together. Is it a bedtime book? Bundle her up and say good night to the real moon, not just the one in the story.